Improvement in water-wheels



n. s. HADLEY, on

IMPROVEMENT IN ANAMosA, Iowa.

WATER-WH EELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,088. dated. September 8, 1864.

Water-Wheel; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ot' this specification, in which` Figure 1 is a vertical section ot my invention taken in the linear x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of the same ltaken in the line y y, Fig. l; Fig. 3, an enlarged side sectional view ol' the same taken in the line zz, Fig. 2.

Similar letters ot reference indicate corre sponding parts in the several figures.

llhis invention consists in constructing the buckets of the wheel in such a manner that '-the faces will have a semicircular, concave,

and a plane surface, the former being at the upper and the latter at the lower part of the buckets, and in using in connection with said buckets a band which incloses them.

The invention also consists in the employment or use of chutes placed in such relation with the buckets of the wheel as to cause the water to act upon the buckets in the most favorable manner to obtain a large percentage of the power of the former.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a penstock, in which the wheel is placed, the latter being in a circular opening, a., in the bottom ot the penstock. The wheel is composed of a cylindrical hub, b, having buckets e attached to its periphery. These buckets are of semicircular form at ,their upper parts, as shown at d, and their lower parts, e, are inclined planes, as shown clearly in Fio. 3. 'lhe lower parts, e, of the buckets overlap each other, and their length is equal to about once and a half ofthe space between the upper parts, d, of the buckets, and the space between the parts e is sufficiently wide to admit ot' a free escape ot' the water.

The water first acts directly against the upper parts, d, of the buckets at their concave 4 sides,and then, withoutbeing broken, descends upon the lower inclined parts, e. These unbroken sheets or columns of water in passing down the inclined surfaces ofthe lower parts, c, of' thel buckets, act in two ways to render the wheel efficient. In the tirst place, they prevent the water from rebonndingtoo quickly from the upper parts, d, of the buckets, and, in the second place, they are acted upon by ,the gravity ofthe water as it passes down them, thus adding the power of the gravity of the water to that of impact.

The buckets c are inclosed by a band, B, which may extend their whole height, as shown in Fig. 1. Y

Over the wheel there are placed a series of chutes,f. One over each bucket, or less, may be used. These chutes are inclined so as to conduct the water at right angles to the upper parts, d, of the buckets. The chutes are slightly curved longitudinally, and are gradually contracted from their upper to thei lower ends, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The buckets c, so formed or shaped as to have an upper semicireular part, el, and a lower inclined plane surface, c, in connection with a band, B, encompassing' the whole, as set forth.

2. 'lhe combination of the longitudinally curved and inclined chutes j', selnicircular upper parts, d, and inclined-plane parts e of the buckets c, and inclosing-band, B, all constructed, arranged, and fmployed as herein specified.

n. s. uADLnY. 

